Thanks in large part to a staunch defensive effort that held Kenston scoreless for the first 7 minutes, 35 seconds of the fourth quarter, Chagrin Falls posted a 49-33 victory over the host Bombers on Friday.

In doing so, not only did the Tigers pull within half a game of the Bombers in the Chagrin Division of the CVC, but they also snapped Kenston's 39-game winning streak in the conference.

Prior to Friday's game, the last time Kenston had lost a league game was 1,132 days earlier, back on Dec. 19, 2009, in a 53-43 defeat at the hands of Chagrin Falls.

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"I have so much respect for (coach) Josh (Jakacki) and that team over there," said Chagrin Falls coach Dave Bargar. "But I'm glad it was us. We were the ones who beat them the last time. It's nice to have bookends."

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Bargar walked down his team's bench and high-fived his players. When the buzzer sounded, fans from Chagrin Falls' student section spilled onto the floor and celebrated wildly with their school's players who had just snapped a streak that Jakacki later said "might be around for a while."

"It feels amazing," said senior Jack Thome, who had 10 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks for the Tigers. "There is no other way to describe it."

Chagrin Falls (10-4, 6-2) found itself tied at 29 when Darryl Richards drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key with a few seconds left in the third quarter. But Chagrin took the momentum early in the fourth quarter on a short shot by Thome and a 3-point play by Liam Sullivan off a dish from Derek Stevenson.

The five-point margin, 34-29, was modest, but it seemed like an ocean's width considering it was the largest spread of the game so far.

"The way both of our teams play defense, a five-point swing is like a 10- or 12-point game in normal situations," Bargar said. "We knew the first team to have a mini-run would be in the driver's seat, or at least have the upper hand in the fourth quarter."

But the early 5-0 run grew. Sawyer McGuire scored on a backdoor cut, with Sullivan providing the assist. Then Sullivan scored off a dish from Thome for a 38-29 lead.

Kenston didn't score until Jay Weemhoff hit a layup with 25 seconds left in the game -- ending Chagrin's 15-0 run.

"You never expect to hold a team to zero points in the fourth quarter," Sullivan said. "We played our game and did what we needed to do. The zone has been working really well for us and we got in a zone (offensively), no pun intended.

"We did what we needed to do."

Slumped in his chair in his office, Jakacki said his team was outplayed and that "it was evident in the fourth quarter who wanted the game more."

That might have been most evident late when Stevenson made two free throws, then dove in front of a Kenston player on the inbounds pass for the surprise steal and called a timeout from his stomach before being called for traveling.

"We were hoping for some leadership to step up, and that didn't happen in the fourth quarter," Jakacki said. "Plays just weren't made and (Chagrin) made them. My hat goes off to them."

Aside from Thome's double-double, the Tigers got 20 points and four assists from Sullivan. Stevenson didn't score until the final 1:40 of the game, but netted all six free throws he attempted.

Bargar gave him credit for more.

"Derek Stevenson is the best defensive player I've ever coached in 23 years," he said.

His effort as part of the Tigers' smothering defense was party responsible for Richards being held to nine points. Peter Rozman had 10 points to lead the Bombers.

Jakacki lamented shortcomings of running too many isolation plays, a lack of screening, not making inside shots and taking too many contested shots.

"We took ourselves out," he said. "We beat ourselves."

Kenston (11-4, 6-1) retains a half-game lead in the league, but things just got a whole lot more snug for his team.

"They're playing the best basketball in the league right now," Jakacki said. "So we'll see what we're made of the next couple weeks. We've got our work certainly cut out for us."

As do the Tigers, who aren't in the Chagrin Division's driver's seat right now, but at least they're riding shotgun after an 0-2 start in league play.

"If we do what we need to do and get a little help," Sullivan said, "there's no reason why we're not the one's holding that trophy up at the end of the season."